The pandemic has caused great damage to the health club industry with 17-25% of clubs and gyms closing permanently. Private clubs with the foresight to develop a great fitness and wellness amenity have weathered the storm by providing members a safe haven in which to work out and take care of their health. Let’s look at some clubs leading the way with great fitness facilities and nimble thinking.
LOS ANGELES ATHLETIC CLUB— OUTDOOR FITNESS
The logo for the Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) is the winged sandal of Mercury, the fleet-footed Roman God who was always a step ahead of everyone else. The LAAC paid homage to their emblem’s namesake when, under clamp-down restrictions, they moved quickly in getting the club outside.
The LAAC moved their athletic equipment to the top three floors of their adjacent parking structure, creating 26,000-square-feet of fitness and group class space. Its name? Hercules Beach. In addition, the club created Studio Luna on their rooftop, 6,000 square-feet for mind and body classes like yoga and meditation.
“Health clubs in cities, including L.A., have a hard time creating outdoor exercise environments. We were one of the few fitness facilities to do this, and it drew a lot of attention,” says General Manager Steve Hathaway, CCM.
The theme and branding of these spaces—with a distinctive West-coast, muscle-beach flair—was the handiwork of Assistant General Manager Cory Hathaway. It subtly signals to members this isn’t just stuff thrown outside, but a newly imagined club space.
SCIOTO COUNTRY CLUB—FUNCTIONAL FITNESS
The Scioto Country Club, located in Columbus, Ohio, opened a new fitness center in December 2019. Built into a hillside near the existing paddle tennis area, the 14,000-square-foot facility, spread out over two floors, is a diverse space that includes several exercise spaces for Pilates, spinning and other group activities, but is notable throughout for its strong emphasis on functional fitness. This “functional” approach is aimed at preparing the body to better perform daily activities—like walking, bending and lifting.
The facility is truly remarkable in the club world for carving out a dimension of fitness that is distinctively “ownable,” which is signaled at the entrance to the second floor space with a central, multi-purpose turf area, emblazoned with Scioto’s logo. This flexible space works great for hard-nosed plyometrics and sled pushes, but also for less strenuous movements like calisthenics and stretching. Adjacent to the turf is Scioto’s CrossFit area, anchored by a towering Rogue Fitness steel rig (think adult jungle gym) from which are hung climbing ropes and gymnastics rings.
The Fitness Center is also a great hangout spot. A second-floor retail market with food service gives members a before- and after-workout social hub while the first-floor Paddle Lounge annex functions as a gateway to the paddle courts, and a great bar for a more lively, post-fitness experience. This is precisely the kind of premium experience expected at the best clubs.
QUAIL CREEK COUNTRY CLUB—DIGITAL FITNESS
The new Sports Center & Spa at Quail Creek, in Naples, Fla., is a 33,000-square-feet, completed in January 2020, that joins the club’s fitness, wellness and sports programs under one roof.
Sport-specific fitness programming helps members play longer and better, as does the club’s full-time physical therapy doctor. On the wellness side, the club has a new spa and plans, post-pandemic, to offer regular wellness programs like natural health consulting and essential oils coaching.
On the fitness floor, Quail Creek’s ARTIS line of strength, cardio and functional fitness equipment from Technogym with interactive technology, allows members to personalize their workouts and track their progress through an app that receives digital feedback from each machine. Virtual trainers can appear on each machine’s tablet-like interface and guide members through one-on-one sessions. Members can also compete with friends and family to meet challenges and tackle new workouts.
Consider whether it’s time for your club to extend into the next generation of fitness. The stretch will do your club good.